RACHELCAKES

NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER ♥ER'S DAY

2010-03-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

I love peanut butter. I eat it every single morning on my waffle pb/banana sandwich. So today I am honoring all those who, like me, love peanut butter, with a Peanut Butter Lover's cupcake.

Peanut butter cupcake with peanut butter buttercream. Keepin it real with the peanut butter. You'll need a cup of coffee or cold glass of milk with this cupcake! I love it!

Every single time I make a cupcake, I make a mental To Do Differently list. I should start writing it down so I dont forget. On this one, the frosting I would want to make not as thick. Also, I overfilled. AGAIN. I even made a test cupcake and measured out the batter and the test came out perfect. Next time, I'll better.

And here, peanut butter lovers, is your cupcake!

Peanut Butter Cupcake

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Sift together. Set aside.

6 tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

Cream.

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Add and beat.

1 cup milk.

Add, alternating with flour mixture.

350 for 22-26 min.

Peanut Butter buttercream

8 tbsp butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

Cream.

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

Combine the milk, vanilla and salt. Add, alternating with sugar.

Tiramisu cupcakes

2010-02-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are delicious. Whats better than some kahlua, espresso, and duh, cupcakes? I followed the recipe I found on I ♥ CUPPYCAKES

Then I revisted her page and found her cupcakes must sexier than mine and I will admit, I got lazy when decorating them. I just wanted to eat them at that point!

Sorry to do this, but its 1am and I have a cold and I need to get to bed, so no recipe posting. But I'll leave you with some pictures.

Also, I know exactly what cupcake is next, in honor of both National Peanut Butter Lovers Day, March 1, and from Maddie and Felicia's suggestions of peanut butter. Just a teaser for you. So come back and see!

MOCHA CUPCAKES

2010-02-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are inspired by one of my favorite drinks I made while working at Starbucks. My boss would always make sure I would make drinks exactly the way the book said to, but the drinks I made for myself were evil. I love espresso, and I liked a little bit of mocha and a little bit of white mocha in my espresso. So these are MY mocha cupcakes, that I topped with a light and whippy white chocolate frosting. The whole recipe was adapted from I ♥ CUPPYCAKES! Photos are of my cupcakes.

MOCHA CUPCAKES

1 1/3 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1/3 CUP UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER

1 TSP BAKING POWDER

1/2 TSP BAKING SODA

2 TBSP ESPRESSO GROUNDS

1/4 TSP SALT

1/2 CUP HALF AND HALF

1/2 CUP BREWED ESPRESSO Dont be afraid to make it strong if you love coffee.

1/2 CUP SUGAR

1/2 CUP BROWN SUGAR

1 LARGE EGG

1. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coffee grounds. Personally, the coarser the grounds, the better. Set aside.

2. Beat the sugars and the butter together. Then add the egg and beat until creamy.

3. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture and mix in. Then add the brewed espresso and mix well. Add more dry, then the half & half. And then add the rest of the dry.

BAKE AT 350 FOR 18-24 MINUTES.

WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

3 LARGE EGG WHITES, ROOM TEMP

3/4 CUP SUGAR

PINCH OF SALT

18 TBSP UNSALTED BUTTER

5 OZ WHITE CHOCOLATE, melted then cooled

1. Combine the whites and the sugar and mix in bowl set in simmering water until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and beat on high until it holds stiff peaks.

2. Add the salt and mix in.

3. Cream the butter into the mixture until smooth.

4. Add the white chocolate and mix until smooth.

VALENTINES DAY CUPCAKES

2010-02-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

So a few very sweet people ordered cupcakes from me and I had a blast making them! I made a few different kinds, and tried to keep them romantic! Red velvet, pink velvet, valentines marble, and frostings like chocolate cream cheese and strawberry buttercream and vanilla buttercream. I put a lot of hours into these cupcakes and my kitchen is a mess! I am now just waiting to go on my Valentines Day date with my sweetheart. CPK and seeing the movie, Valentines Day. Oh and he had the cutest flowers of my life delivered to me when my I was all messy from cupcake decorating! Perfect! I'm about to post all my cupcakes, originals from RACHELCAKES and made from scratch out of delicious fine ingredients!

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH COTTON CANDY INFUSED BUTTERCREAM

2010-02-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH COTTON CANDY INFUSED BUTTERCREAM

Today is Alyssa's birthday so I made her some cupcakes. The frosting is really sweet so I'm glad I did a basic vanilla cupcake. I used the same vanilla cupcake recipe I used for my pink velvet cupcakes and I made the frosting by just adding some cotton candy to my regular buttercream!

PINK VELVET CUPCAKES

2010-01-25T14:42:00.002-07:00

After making my cupcakes yesterday, I wanted to make some purely for decoration purposes. I am very pleased with my cupcakes today! Though now.. We have somewhat like 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes in our home... I need my sisters to come over!

Anyways, these are a simple pink velvet with brown sugar cream cheese frosting adapted from a recipe from cakespy.com

PINK VELVET CUPCAKES

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line your pan.

2. Sift together:

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt.

Set aside.

3. Beat one egg in for one minute. Then beat another egg in for one minute.

4. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla extract

5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat in on low speed.

6. Add 1/2 cup of milk, and about 1/2 tbsp food coloring, beat.

7. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixtures, beat in.

8. Add another 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 tbsp of food coloring, beat.

9. Add the rest of the flour mixture.

10. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Brown sugar cream cheese frosting

1. Cream 1 1/2 cups of room temperature butter with 8 oz room temperature cream cheese.

2. Beat in 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla

3. Add 1 tbsp milk and 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar.

RASPBERRY LIMON CUPCAKES

2010-01-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

RASPBERRY LIMON

First trial of these cupcakes. Good, but not entirely happy.

Number 1, I wanted to soak these in Bacardi Limon (yumm), but silly me was unprepared and living in Utah, can't buy any liquor anywhere on a Sunday.

Number 2.. while grocery shopping, the first store didnt have any raspberries. I went a little further to another store, only to find day marked down, old raspberries. They came out just fine in the frosting, but I'm positive it would have been so much better with some fresh ones. I wanted to top all my cupcakes with a raspberry, but they were yucky.

Number three: I was not thrilled with my frosting today. Too runny for me and a little too sweet. Needs worked on.

Number 4: I soaked these in a sugar/lemon juice glaze. Super yummy, also super sticky.

So, while really yummy, I'm trying these again, next time, soaking them in rum, using fresher raspberries, and making my frosting more creamy, less sweet.

CARAMEL APPLE CRUMB CUPCAKES

2010-01-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

SO GOOOOD!

Jimmy requested an apply caramel cupcake. So I researched a bunch of recipes and decided to combine my favorite aspects of the few I liked and came up with these delicious monsters. I was going to frost these with a white chocolate cream, drizzled with caramel, inspired by The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. After baking though, I decided they did not need a frosting, so I just drizzled with white chocolate and caramel.

1. Preheat your oven to 35O and line your pan.
2. Skin your apple and dice into the size you desire as chunks in your cupcakes. Toss in 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Set aside.

3. Mix 2/3 cup sifted flour, 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 5 tbsp butter, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon for your crumbs. Should be clumpy! Set aside.

4. Beat 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup veg oil together on high speed.
5. Add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla and beat on medium.
6. Add 1 cup sifted flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt and beat on low. Your mix will be very thick!
7. Add your apples in and mix all together well.
8. Fill the cups 1/2 full and top with your crumbs. Press crumbs in slightly.
9. Bake for 3O minutes.

I love these a lot because I am a huge fan of streusel! These are fork desserts though, so I'm adding another apple cupcake to my To Bake list, one that will be an honest cupcake!

MAPLE SPICE CUPCAKES

2010-01-20T14:39:00.001-07:00

Failing miserably on my cupcakes yesterday, I had to spend my last night of the week off making some decent cupcakes. These are delicious and one of my new favorites!

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line your pan.
2. Comine:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Set aside.
3. Whisk together:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp maple extract
4. Alternate adding flour mixture and adding 1/2 cup cold milk. (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)
5. Fill 1/2 full and bake 20-25 minutes.

Maple Buttercream frosting

1. Cream 1 cup room temperature butter with 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar.
2. Add 2 tbsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp maple syrup

CUPCAKE FAIL

2010-01-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Had some good luck with my last batch, bad luck was around the corner. I still have yet to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with these cupcakes. Perhaps it was because they were pound cake cupcakes and I did not cream the butter correctly. Maybe it was the cold oven technique I was trying out. Either way, these were a major fail! The recipe was delicious, but the tops rose so very high, then they caved in, with about 1/2 inch seperation from the top to the gooey insides, which never completely cooked, no matter how long I kept them in. We ate a couple when they were hot, but once they cooled down, they became very crunchy. I threw them all out. Pound cake cupcakes will get another shot sometime.

FIRST CUPCAKES OF THE YEAR

2010-01-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

First cupcake endeavor of the year 2O1O. Chocolate cream cheese with cream cheese frosting. Customized a recipe for the cupcakes, made my own frosting. Not entirely impressive, but have come a ways from my first serious attempt at cupcakes, the ones for Alyssa's birthday last year.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes

1.Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix:

8oz cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1/8tsp salt

Set Aside.

3. Beat together:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups water

2/3 cup oil

2tsp vanilla

4. Fill cupcakes 1/2 full. Top with tbsp of cream cheese mixture.

5. Bake 2O-25 minutes. Do not allow cream cheese to brown.

Cream cheese frosting
1. Mix:

1/2 cup butter

8oz cream cheese.

1 tbsp vanilla.

2. Sift in 1.5 cups powdered sugar, mixing well after each 1/2 cup.

NEW YEARS

2010-01-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

January 1, 2010. Ive given a lot of thought about what is most important to happen and accomplish this year. Some have been on the to do list forever. Some are new. But here they are, with so much hope and determination and motivation to accomplish my top 10 most important goals:

1.
MONEY.

Stick to Budget, excluding occasion. I have the budget details in my new notebook. The goal for the year is: By December 2O1O, have a savings account with a 4 digit number.

2.
DEBT.

Eliminate the following outstanding debt: Cyprus, Library, Swine flu ER trip. Not that much debt. Totally attainable.

3.
WEIGHT.

Set up eating and exercise plans per month. Goal for the year: 200 pounds. Maybe Im being too easy on myself, but I am not an athletic person. I love to eat. I also dont mind being curvy or larger. I just want a smaller tummy basically. If I can accomplish this, I will be very thrilled in myself.

4.
CUPCAKES.

Yeah, losing weight AND cupcakes galore! Baking in general though, cuz I want to make some cute cookies and regular cakes. But cupcakes are my favorite and my goal is this: Improve the skill. Once I thought I just was not a baker. Period. But with some practice, I succeeded in my first successful cheesecake, then I made box cake good! Then the monumental cream cheese filled pumpkin cupcakes with homemade frosting. My main goal is to prefect my decorations and experiment with frostings and fondunt.

5.
OHIO.

Hopefully in Spring we can go on vacation. Spring or not, sometime this year. And I want to get closer to our move, in all aspects.

6.    \
BLOG.

Blog more. Here and possibly another one, kind of auto-biography style. A lot of close friends have told me I could write a book. Not happening. But a blog, for my own sake, would be a good thing to start on this year because I have been thinking about it a while. I want to document my baking endeavors and my beliefs and relationship with God and every day life as well.

7.
PHOTOS.

I certainly want to take a lot of pictures with my new camera and memorize the year.

8.
MOM.

End this unnecessary mess Ive gotten myself into and pretty much end the relationship. I'd me far better off without her.

9.
TATTOOS.

I want to get a damn tattoo this year!

1O.
HAVE FUN.

Yep. I want to have fun every single day. What girl doesnt?